Friday, 24 May 2013

In the News: Cockroach Double Whammy

Luminescence among terrestrial animals is rather rare and best known
among several groups of beetles — fireflies and certain click beetles in
particular — as well as cave-inhabiting fungus gnats. Since the first
discovery of a luminescent cockroach in 1999, more than a dozen species
have 'come to light'. All are rare, and interestingly, so far found only
in remote areas far from light pollution. The latest addition to this
growing list is L. luckae that may be endangered or possibly
already extinct. This cockroach is known from a single specimen
collected 70 years ago from an area heavily impacted by the eruption of
the Tungurahua volcano. The species may be most remarkable because the
size and placement of its lamps suggest that it is using light to mimic
toxic luminescent click beetles

A strain of cockroaches in Europe has evolved to outsmart the sugar traps used to eradicate them.
American scientists found that the mutant cockroaches had a "reorganised" sense of taste, making them perceive the glucose used to coat poisoned bait not as sweet but rather as bitter.

A North Carolina State University team tested the theory by giving cockroaches a choice of jam or peanut butter.

They then analysed the insects' taste receptors, similar to our taste buds.
Researchers from the same team first noticed 20 years ago that some pest controllers were failing to eradicate cockroaches from properties, because the insects were simply refusing to eat the bait.

Dr Coby Schal explained in the journal Science that this new study had revealed the "neural mechanism" behind this refusal.

I work on projects related to technology and taxonomy at the Natural History Museum, and as an advisor for the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. My interests are in entomology (stick insects, cockroaches and insect acoustics) and how technology can change the way research is done in biology and museums. Big fan of open access, open data and open hardware.

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About Ed Baker

I work on projects related to technology and taxonomy at the Natural History Museum, and as an advisor for the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. My interests are in entomology (stick insects, cockroaches and insect acoustics) and how technology can change the way research is done in biology and museums. Big fan of open access, open data and open hardware.